Summary
Zatoichi, a blind, gambling, masseuse who is also a swordsman, gets wrapped up in a squabble with the yakuza and has to find a way to make peace.
My Thoughts
Ahh, Zatoichi… What a fun collection of movies; this series is for the Japanese as what James Bond was to us. Only, instead of a womanizing, globetrotting spy, Japan is blessed with Zatoichi, a blind, gambling, swordsman played by Shintaro Katsu throughout almost all of the films (26 in all- still more than James Bond). This is the first in the Zatoichi series, and it’s quite a wonderful introduction to our lead.
(SOME SPOILERS IN THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH)
Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu, “The Tale of Zatoichi Continues”), a blind wandering swordsman and masseuse, is hired by a yakuza leader (Eijiro Yanagi) in a small village as protection from a rival gang. As tensions mount, the other gang hires a similar Samurai named Miki Hirate (Shigeru Amachi, “The Ghost of Yotsuya”). The two samurai’s meet and find they respect each other, but when a battle breaks out, they know the only way to bring peace back between the rival gangs is a fight to the death.
(SPOILERS END)
Zatoichi is the best part of this movie. His character is similar to characters we’ve seen in “The Hidden Fortress” or “Ran”, but he’s a little bit more fun. His character has a tongue-in-cheek quality to him, and he’s a swindler, but at the same time, as far as his stance on violence goes, he stands on a moral high ground above many of the other characters in this film. That kind of character dissonance creates someone who is flawed but also quite interesting. Though he is hired for his skills as a swordsman, he makes it incredibly apparent that he does not like to fight if he does not have to. We don’t even get to see Zatoichi fight until near the end of the film, because he would prefer to keep his sword sheathed, and after (SPOILER ALERT) he helps wins the battle (there are 24 more films after this, did you think he died?), Zatoichi scolds the man for who he works for celebrating, saying that his own men are lying dead in the boats, and there isn't anything to celebrate. Compare that to James Bond, where the character has no qualms with killing umpteen people on every outing.
Another thing I love in this film is the set and production design. I’m a huge fan of Samurai cinema in general, but this film really showcases some great village sets and costume design. The quality of production, at least as far as sets and costumes go, is comparable to that of many Kurosawa films we’ve reviewed on this site. Cinematography is also pretty good. There are some shots that really stick out in my memory, particularly in the final battle. Misumi is no Ozu, Kurosawa, or Tarkovsky; there aren’t many shots that will completely floor you, but overall the film looks quite good.
My biggest issue with this first outing with Zatoichi is the pacing in the first act. We take time getting to know all sorts of characters in the village; establishing a love story; meeting Miki and establishing a report; creating tensions between the rest of the yakuza members. The problem is that it feels like it takes a while to get going, and it’s not as interesting as the slow buildup in movies like, say, “Seven Samurai”. But, while the first part of this movie is slow, it’s rewarding for those who want to stick around to the end. The final battle is well shot, and awesomely choreographed, and Shintaro Katsu is incredibly captivating as the lead, which is good, considering there are twenty-four more films in this series.
Verdict
This series is a ton of fun, but other than the morality questions they raise, they aren’t much deeper than the films in the James Bond series. When a series of movies has this many entries, the films become almost like an episodic television show, where we get to come back and reunite with characters that we love. This series is like that. I believe I’ve seen eight or nine of these films over the last year, and eventually (I know I saw this a lot), we’ll end up reviewing these films for the site. Check back later for the next entry: “The Tale of Zatoichi Continues” (1962).
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